John Myung’s Top 10 Bass Playing Tips
Posted Mar 7, 2016, 4:35 PM UTC
8224
He's one of my favorite players. I heard an interview with the other band members one time when they joked that Myung was always practicing when they were young. Players starting out tend to look at someone like him and think he's super-human. Sure he had natural gifts, but grinding away for hours to get some small part of his craft perfect is reflected in his playing.
18
a friend of mine's dad played on a project with Myung, he gave us tickets to go see Dream Theater once (late 90s, I think. definitely before 2001) and we got to meet the band after the show. Everyone hung out and talked to fans except for Myung. he wasn't happy with the show (we all thought it was incredible) and went straight back to the tour bus and spent the entire night practicing. This is AFTER a two hour performance and who knows how much he played earlier that day.
26
Not to be stereotyping, but I do wonder how much of that attitude comes from his cultural background. Raised by Korean parents, started playing violin at 5 years old, that whole thing. That way of thinking seems awesome to me, but also totally bizarre. It's impressive that he has energy to play after a whole show.
18
Reminds me of Dennis Rodman. At least when he was on the Bulls he'd sprint on a treadmill for 5-10 miles (I forgot) after each game.
3
I remember reading an interview with Dream Theater and they said they practiced around 8 hours a day when they were at Berklee.
11
That makes sense. They were at a music school, of course they would spend an entire workday practicing.
7
They started that before they went to Berklee, and when they were there they did the 6 hours on top of their course work
4
I did that on trumpet for a summer when I was in high school. I'd wake up and play for 3 hours, have lunch and take a break for like an hour, play for another 4 hours, eat dinner and take another break, then practice for another couple hours. I only lasted a month or so, then I had to quit because I was getting sick of the trumpet. It payed off very well (I went from the bottom of the top band at my school to first chair) but it just wasn't fun. How people do that for an extended period of time is beyond me.
3
My idol! Thanks for sharing.
4
My work internet is blocking the link, can some kind soul TL;DR this sucker for me?
2
- Double Petrucci when he riffs
- Make sure no one hears you in the mix
45
I know you're joking but his work on Metropolis Part 2 is amazing and he's pretty audible and does his own thing. It's a great album and I'm not even a big Dream Theater fan.
12
I don't know dude.. I actually really like Dream Theater, but there isn't a single bass line that I can hum for this band
Which isn't something I can say for other prog bands, like porcupine tree or opeth or even rush
Myung is by far the weakest link of that band
I think that the rest of the members of Dream Theater have a really distinct sound, that can be recognized wherever they play. And I can't really say that about myung
Maybe, he's doing something wrong if his practice time is out of proportion but still no one knows how he sounds and also doesn't play much outside of dream theater
I do practice a lot, and believe that practicing is important, but I won't take enough example from this dude
-2†
I really love some of his lines on Images and Words. Learning to Live is great
3
- Warm up
- Use the fretboard of your bass as a visual aid
- Maintain your practising discipline
- Be motivated and determined… and get your practising done early in the day
- Find role models and heroes to aspire to
- It’s not just about playing scales: learn songs and jam them
- Learn how to be a team player
- Be positive in your social interaction with band-mates
- Your first serious bass should be comfortable to play and versatile
- If it all gets too much, tomorrow is another day
14
TL;DR
- Practice at least three hours a day, practice early, and always warm up.
- Visualize the fretboard
- Have heroes and try to aspire to their playing
- Your first serious bass should be versatile and comfortable
- Have fun and don't get discouraged
- Don't be a dick
11
great advice, thanks for posting it
2
Warm up for an hour? Sheez...I don't play all week, then go to rehearsal and dive right into 'Sex Machine' and 'Higher Ground'. I must be broken.
-14
To be fair, Dream Theater songs are a lot more complex and generally more taxing to play than those.
15
Our version of 'Higher Ground' is played faster than the RHCP version, so..I dunno.
-24
But they have Constant Motion. Seriously, they have like... at least 20 songs that go for ten minutes or more. I'm not saying that playing Higher Ground isn't difficult, it's just not nearly as brutal as what John Myung has to do :P
14
Never heard their music, and cannot be arsed. I hate the way his bass looks, so I won't bother.
-22
Man, 3 hours a day is nuts, and I know these guys did at least 6 hours a day in high school/college. If only I didn't have other ambitions and obligations...
Otherwise great advice from an incredible player!